Slaughter

A typical gangland killing has an unusual outcome when the victim's son comes looking for justice in this violent blaxploitation action drama. Slaughter (Jim Brown) is a former Green Beret who is a decorated war hero, but while he's devoted his life to fighting for right, his father followed another path as a gangster. However, while Slaughter's dad was a career

Overview

A typical gangland killing has an unusual outcome when the victim's son comes looking for justice in this violent blaxploitation action drama. Slaughter (Jim Brown) is a former Green Beret who is a decorated war hero, but while he's devoted his life to fighting for right, his father followed another path as a gangster. However, while Slaughter's dad was a career criminal, his mother played no part in his actions, and when they're both killed in a car explosion, Slaughter is determined to get revenge. Slaughter is convinced a rival crime boss ordered the bombing, and plans a daring raid where he kills the suspect. Slaughter is captured by police, and angry detective A.W. Price (Cameron Mitchell) tells Slaughter he had the right idea but the wrong man. Slaughter is persuaded to team up with undercover detectives Harry (Don Gordon) and Kim (Marlene Clark) as they travel to Puerto Rico in hopes of infiltrating the operations of hot-headed mobster Hoffo (Rip Torn). The cops have learned that Hoffo and his cronies are computerizing their operations and they're looking for hard evidence, but Slaughter is more interested in taking down Hoffo, and he'll do whatever it takes. The rivalry between Slaughter and Hoffo becomes all the more bitter when Slaughter becomes involved with Ann (Stella Stevens), the gangster's beautiful girlfriend. Featuring a dynamic theme song by Billy Preston, Slaughter was a major box-office hit in 1972 and one of the most popular films of Jim Brown's screen career; it spawned a sequel, Slaughter's Big Rip-Off, which appeared in 1973.

Editorial Reviews

Barnes & Noble - Ed Hulse

Football great Jim Brown had appeared in films on and off for eight years before attaining stardom with the release of this 1972 smash, a glossy Hollywood production riding on blaxploitation's steadily increasing popularity. Sturdily produced but not quite as gritty as later entries in the genre, Slaughter casts Brown as a former Green Beret who seeks the criminals responsible for the murder of his parents in a Cleveland car bombing. Slaughter's quest eventually exposes him to danger from both the feds and the mob, but he's not about to be cheated out of his revenge. The resulting carnage is predictably plentiful, but our hero indulges himself in more pleasurable pursuits as well, including a fairly explicit -- and, at the time of the film's initial release, somewhat controversial -- dalliance with mob moll Stella Stevens. Director Jack Starrett uses the hulking, taciturn Brown very effectively: Slaughter's menacing mien makes him an unusually formidable protagonist. MGM's newly remastered DVD release includes the film's theatrical trailer.

All Movie Guide

Jim Brown threw his hat into the blaxploitation ring with this energetic and skillfully mounted example of the genre. Slaughteris unique in that its storyline ditches the genre's usual urban setting and style for an adventure in a foreign locale that is much like the storyline of a men's adventure novel from the 1970's (Jim Brown as a streetwise Mack Bolan, if you will). The title role is smartly tailored to Brown's minimalist acting style, allowing him to make the most of his formidable presence as he punches and shoots his way through the film like a force of nature. The filmmakers also surrounded Brown with an above-average supporting cast: Stella Stevens is eye candy of the most delicious variety and also shows nice comedic timing, Don Gordon's self-deprecating turn as Slaughter's partner offsets the film's tough-guy edge in a nice way and Rip Torn has a blast chewing up the scenery as the hero's hateful and racist foe. Finally, Jack Starrett's direction gives Slaughter an adrenalin-infused kick: he keeps the pacing lean and uses unorthodox tactics like deploying fish-eye-lensed shots of key moments within tightly-edited action scenes to give them extra oomph. All in all, Slaughter is a strong entry in the blaxploitation genre and well worth the time for any fan of 1970's exploitation fare.